Forever Watching and Waiting
by ViCtOrIoUsGaL41822
Summary: Soo I honestly don't know how to summarize this story. Space is so limited. it's the tellings of Elena's younger sister who has strange emotional eonnections with the Salvatore brothers...but they are more stronger with one thatn the other...which one is it...? Read and find out :D
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ohhh hello darling readers!:) Boy are you all in for a treat! I have to say this is a fantastic piece of work and it's only the first chapter! :D this story I am co-writing with my dearest friend Morgan (Morganellie). She is a fabulous writer and I would say most of this chapter belongs to her. Anyway, we've got a great story here for ya. We're both incredibly excited for it and we hope you all love it! Enjoy **

Sophie woke up to the soft cawing of a crow, the same sound she had been waking up to for the past three months. When she had first heard it, she was a bit scared. But something inside reassured her that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Stretching her tight muscles and letting out a small yawn, Sophie gazed out the window to see the crow perched on the same tree branch it always sat on. "Good morning," She said with a smile. The crow cawed in reply.

Sophie rose from her bed, leaving it in disarray, just as she did every morning. However, she took great care to make sure her stuffed animal Flounder was in a comfortable position.

She turned back to the crow. "Mommy and Daddy bought him for me when we went to Disney World," She sat on the bench seated beneath her window and tucked her legs in as she began her story. The crow titled its head to the side, listening intently to the child's angelic voice.

Elena had just passed Sophie's room to catch the last of her sister's long explanation of their family's spring trip; just before their parent's death.

When Sophie had first begun these conversations with what Elena assumed was an imaginary friend, she had thought that it was normal and reasonable for a six year-old. Especially after going through what they had.

Instead of walking in to the room, Elena simply smiled and strolled down the stairs, letting her sister enjoy her private fantasies.

Ten minutes later, Sophie came frolicking into the kitchen to see Elena, Jeremy, and their aunt Jenna seated at the table. She took a piece of Jeremy's cinnamon toast and plopped herself on the table top, munching it loudly and getting crumbs all over her bright outfit.

"Hey, get off the table squirt," Jenna said, squeezing the little girl's knee. Sophie jumped and giggled then slid into the chair next to Elena.

"So, Sophie. Did you see the crow last night?" Jeremy said with a cocky smile. Elena and Jenna both sent him hard glares.

"No…" Sophie said glumly, and then perked into a smile. "He came this morning. He apologized for being late," She continued in a happier voice.

Elena laughed softly and took a sip from the coffee cup laced in her hands. She glanced up at the clock and nearly choked on the hot liquid. "Oh gosh Sophie. We gotta' go. I have to drop you off at Mrs. Barnes' before I go to Bonnie's," She said as she scurried around the kitchen to gather her necessities for school.

Finishing the last of her toast and wiping the crumbs off her face, Sophie stuffed her arms across her chest. "I don't want to go to Mrs. Barnes'. It smells like old people and tuna," She pouted to her older sister.

Elena saw the look of distraught look in the little girl's eyes and gave her a reassuring smile. She perched in herself in front of Sophie, kneeling to meet her eyes. "You've got to go Soph,"

"Why can't you take me?" Sophie mumbled in her toddler-like voice she would use whenever she wanted something.

Elena put her hands on Sophie's thin arms, "I wish I could sweetie. But Jer and I have to go to school. I'll pick you though ok?"

"Pinky promise?" Sophie asked sweetly, holding up her small finger.

Elena smiled and laced their pinkies together, placing a small kiss over their hands as Sophie did the same; a custom that their parents had made up when ever promises were made.

After Elena had whisked Sophie out of the house and got her to Mrs. Barnes', she was finally able to make it into Bonnie's car to head for school.

Elena slouched comfortably in the passenger seat, muffled with silence as her friend babbled on about how kick ass this year was going to be. She was just starting to drift off into space when a small black object flew towards them.

"Bonnie!" Elena screamed, but it was too late. The object slammed into the thick glass then was hurled out of sight.

Elena regressed her body against the seat as bonnie halted the car.

"Elena, are you alright?" Bonnie stuttered, her voice shaken up from the incident.

"I'm fine…what was that?" Elena questioned as she gazed out the window in search for what they had hit. Looking up at a street sign, she met the eyes of a shaking black crow, its right wing bent slightly in an injured manner.

_Oh shit._ Elena's eyes widened. "Good thing Sophie wasn't her or she would have had a fit," She stated, not taking her eyes away from the bird.

"What are you talking about?" Bonnie said and leaned in next to Elena to look out the window. The crow cawed at them before spreading its wings and staggering to fly away.

Elena shook her head. "Just a bird. Let's go," She said and Bonnie started the car up again.

After a lousy morning of French, Math, History, and English, Elena had begun to make her way to lunch when she noticed a hooded figure making its way to the boys' bathroom. She shook her head, recognizing the slouch of her brother anywhere. She stormed after him in annoyance.

Not caring that she had walked into a non female friendly environment, Elena stalked past a confused boy and shoved her brother in the back. When he turned she quickly clutched his cheek, examining Jeremy's drugged face.

"Great. Stoned on the first day. When are you going to learn to grow up Jer?" She said in frustration.

"Dude," I'm not stoned. What the hell is wrong with you?" Jeremy fought back, trying to hide the slur in his voice.

"Don't give me that bullshit Jeremy," Elena growled, thumping him on the side of the head. "I may have ignored this in the past but I am done. I am not going to sit around and watch you throw your life away. This isn't fair to your teachers, your friends, to Jenna, or even Sophie. What do you think will go through her head when she sees her big brother coming home everyday acting like a complete moron? What would mom and dad think?"

Jeremy stood there for second, darting his eyes back and forth so they wouldn't meet his sister's enraged ones. "What would they think of you hanging out in a guy's bathroom?" Was the only response he could give before shoving past her out of the facility.

After he left, Elena didn't move a muscle. She could not believe how immature and careless her brother was acting. Actually, she could believe it…she just couldn't believe that he didn't care enough to sober up to help raise a child who was hurting just as, if not worse much as they were.

Startled by the ring of the bell, Elena jumped out of her daze and quickly made her way out of the bathroom. Fighting tears from her eyes and not paying attention to where she was going, Elena bumped into a tall, looming figure. The collision had startled her, causing her back to fall from her shoulder and half of its contents piling on to the floor.  
"Oh, geez. I'm so sorry," Elena stammered as she pulled herself together. She looked up to see who she encountered when she met the dazzling green eyes of Stefan Salvatore, the strange new hottie to Mystic Falls.

"It's no problem," He said with a simple smile, bending down to pick up her belongings. "Elena," He spoke her name in a breath taking tone when he stood up with a handful of papers and a notebook.

Elena looked at him in confusion. Before she could ask how he knew her name he showed her a colorful drawing obviously drawn by Sophie. Elena smiled at the message that read 'Have a great day at school Elena! Love, Sophie'

"Look's like you've got quite the artist," Stefan grinned, handing Elena the papers.

"Yeah, my sister. She loves to draw," Elena replied, stuffing the papers and notebook back into her bag. When she looked back up at Stefan, she felt a hint of recognition. "Hey, don't we have history together?" She asked, suddenly remembering that he sat two desks away from her in Mr. Turner's class.  
"And French and English," Stefan added with yet another heart stopping smile. Elena nearly slapped herself. How could she forget the handsome boy who always seemed to be stealing glances at her in English and always seemed to pronounce words perfectly in French?

"Right. I'm sorry. It's the first day and my mind is…not where it's supposed to be," Elena apologized, running a staggering hand through her hair.

Stefan gave her a short laugh. "That's alright. I'm sure we'll get more time to know each other. Have a nice day Elena," He said, and walked passed her into his next class.

"Bye," Elena whispered, even though she knew he couldn't hear her, her eyes lingering after the gorgeous boy.

"So what did you do at school today Sophie?" Elena asked as they swung their clasped hands back and forth. Elena was still a little bit troubled by her run in with Stefan Salvatore today; she couldn't get him out of her head! Their encounter was brief, but it left such an impact on her. She hoped that talking to Sophie would help her take her mind off of the boy who was now enchanting her.

"Oh nothing, Henry and I got in a fight today," she said dejectedly.

"Oh no! What happened this time?" Elena gasped. There had never been a day where Sophie got into a fight with her best friend Henry, but regardless it managed to be about something different every time.

"He thinks that Peter Pan is the best movie ever, I said The Little Mermaid," she said to the ground, then cheerfully, "Hey Lena, can we go to the cemetery today? I want to visit with Mommy and Daddy a little bit."

"Okay Sophie, but not for too long." Sophie had been asking to visit their parents' grave almost everyday since their funeral, which Elena didn't think was unusual, but lately she had been trying to wane Sophie out of her habit. It wasn't normal. If Jeremy could decide, she wouldn't be going to the cemetery at all, but Elena secretly needed it just as much as Sophie. She couldn't help but feel guilty though, six year-old's shouldn't be spending their days playing by graves.

As they approached the cemetery, Elena couldn't help but get a small sense of foreboding build inside of her; the mossy trees and Gothic graves gave her the creeps, but Sophie pranced through the gates completely unaffected.

After walking for a good five minutes into the heart of the cemetery to their family plot of land, Sophie plopped down in front of her parent's grave and pulled out a pad of paper and some crayons from her bag and began coloring intensely.

Elena decided to take this time to write a bit in her journal, which she had been doing frequently ever since her parent's death. Elena wrote a bit about the mysterious new guy Stefan, who was leaving this somehow gleaming effect on her.

Elena took a quick peek of Sophie's drawing. A crow, she should've guessed. Elena loved her sister as deeply as any sister could, but lately Sophie had been acting like one of those creepy kids from a horror movie. She has had pictures of her "crow" friend plastered all over her room, and sometimes at night she caught Sophie talking to herself in her room, as if she were having a conversation with someone. This didn't bother Elena, but it had been getting to her just because she felt like she had been seeing a crow wherever she went.

_There's crows everywhere, you're probably just taking notice of them for the first time, _she told herself. Of course things couldn't stay creepy for long when Sophie was singing quite loudly, and quite off-key, her whole repertoire of Disney songs.

But Elena couldn't notice the solitary crow that was perched on a nearby grave, and the subtle mist that seemed to now be surrounding them.

"Soph, it's time to go," said Elena, not taking her eyes off the bird.

"BUT LENAAAAAAAAA WHYYYYYYY?" Suddenly she took note of Elena's gaze, and saw what she was staring at. "It's the crow!" she gasped, she bolted towards it and out of Elena's sight into the thickening fog.

"Sophie!" She yelled. "Shit," she muttered to herself, running after her. She couldn't help but seeing, or _imagining, _Elena corrected herself, a dark figure amid the mist.

It wasn't a few seconds before she heard a squeak "ouch", sending Elena in the direction of the voice, and throwing the suspicions of the figure out of her head. It was Sophie on the ground, clutching her ripped jeans revealing a small cut on her knee.

"Oops," Sophie said, clearly not affected by her new injury. "Did you see it Elena? The bird? That was my friend!" she asked as Elena hoisted Sophie up from the ground. Before Elena could react, she realized she was face to face with Stefan Salvatore.

"Umm... Hi," She said, smiling awkwardly.

"Hi," He said back, offering back a crooked smile.

"Who are you?" Said Sophie blatantly, pulling herself out of Elena's grasp.

"Were you... Were you following us?" Elena asked breathlessly, ignoring Sophie's question.

"Oh, I just saw your sister fall," he said.

"And you just happened to be hanging out in a cemetery?" Elena asked a little more harsh than necessary.

"I'm visiting, I have... family here," he replied.

_I'm such an idiot. _Elena blushed in embarrassment. "Wow, I'm sorry, it's the fog, making me foggy,and back there there was a bird-"

"MY bird," Sophie interrupted.

Elena disregarded her sister's nonsense. "It was all very Hitchcock, that is the bird movie right?" She babbled, fiddling with words in front of the charming boy. Stefan simply stood there, muffling his laughter at her ramble.

"Wow, Elena, look at his ring, isn't if funny looking?" Sophie didn't hesitate a moment in grabbing the stranger's hand to take a closer look at it.

Stefan smiled, bending down to meet Sophie's eye. "It's a family ring, kind of stuck with it." His face slowly turned into one of confusion when he noticed the blood soaking the girls' pants, "Did you hurt yourself?" He asked Sophie.

"Oh my god, Sophie!" Said Elena as she looked at her leg, which was now bleeding much more.

"You should go take care of that," said Stefan, turning away as Elena searched for a band-aide from her purse.

"Elena he's gone!" Said Sophie, as they both looked up, "He vanished! Like magic!" Elena admitted it was odd, but brushed off her sister's comment and laughed.

"Come on Soph, let's get you home and get this cleaned," She said as she grabbed Sophie's hand, a little shaken by the whole incident.

"I'm meeting Bonnie at the grill," Elena said as she hastily grabbed her things on the way out of the house.

"Wait, I got this," said Jenna, stepping in front of the door, "Don't stay out late."

"Yeah! It's a school night Missy!" interjected Sophie, who was eavesdropping from the living room.

"Aye, Aye Captain," responded Elena jokingly. She patted Jenna on the shoulder. "Good work,"

"Can't I come with you Lena, please please please!" Sophie begged as her tiny feet padded to them from the kitchen.

"No," said Elena and Jenna simultaneously. Elena planted a kiss on Sophie's pouted cheek then turned for the door. Just as she was about to walk out, she looked up, to see Stefan Salvatore, _again. _

_ "Oh," _Said Elena, very much surprised at her visiter.

"Hi again, I wanted to apologize for my disappearing act earlier, I know it was kinda... strange," He said.

From the living room, Sophie yelled excitedly, "Is someone here?"

"No," yelled Elena hastily. Elena brought her attention back to Stefan, "No worries, I get it. Blood makes you squeamish," she said.

He laughed, nodding, "Something like that."

"Someone IS here!" Yelled Sophie, her voice getting closer.

"Here we go..." Elena sighed. Right on cue, the pitter patter of Sophie's feet was heard, and a moment later she was standing in front of the door.

"Hi! I remember you! Do you remember me? I saw you at the cemetery, and then I fell and then I was hurt and then you were there and then you were all like hi Elena and I waslikewhat'syournameandyoudidn'tasnwer-"

"Sophie!" Interjected Elena, "Slow down a bit."

"It's okay," Stefan smiled. "I'm Stefan," he explained, holding out his big hand to shake it with her small one. "How's your leg?" He asked concerned.

"It's all better!" She said happily.

"How did you know where I live?" asked Elena suddenly.

"Where WE live," corrected Sophie. Elena rolled her eyes and ignored her.

"Oh, you know, small town, I asked the first person I saw," Stefan said. "I thought you might want this back," he handed Elena her green journal, and then to Sophie, "And I found this as well," as he handed her, her notebook.

"My book!" She squealed, quickly retrieving it from his grasp. She pulled it close to her chest.

"We must've dropped them," said Elena as she set her journal down on the bench next to her.

"I didn't look inside... Either of them," he said, eyeing Sophie who was giving him a suspicious look.

"You didn't? Most people would've," said Elena.

"Well I wouldn't want anyone reading mine," he admitted.

"Wow you keep a journal too? You and Elena have _so _much in common. She writes in hers _all_ the time," said Sophie giddily. Elena sent a discreet shove at Sophie's shoulder.

"You don't have to stay out there," said Elena as she retreated back into the house to put her journal away.

Stefan remained outside, unable to enter; all the while Sophie just stood staring at Stefan with a small devilish smirk on her face that Stefan couldn't decide if it was cute or creepy.

The wheels in Sophie's head were already turning, and she liked the Stefan boy, and she liked Elena, so it was time to put a plan into action to bring them together, or at least send some subtle hints. Elena returned, giving them both a curious look.

"Sorry, were you going somewhere?" Stefan asked.

Before Elena could answer Sophie interjected "Yes, she is, she's going to see her friends at the grill and you should go with her and eat food... and do stuff," said Sophie.

"You know what Sophie? I think it's time you went to bed," Elena said giving Sophie a death glare, stepping outside, and shutting the door. Elena could hear an audible "humph" as she stormed upstairs to her bedroom. Elena couldn't stay frustrated for long, Sophie was so cute when she's "angry". "Do you want to come?" Elena asked Stefan.

Stefan responded with small smile.

Damon's hand raked through his hair as he downed another scotch, he should have known returning to Mystic Falls would cause him nothing but grief. He cursed his cockiness, as soon as he heard of Elena, he had to come, and he had to ruin Stefan's chance of being happy.

He had spent the last few months scoping out her house, only in his form as a crow, because he knew Stefan was keeping tabs on Elena as well. How strange, he mused, that two brothers were both simultaneously stalking the same house while its inhabitants lived their lives unknowing that they had not one, but two stalkers watching their every move.

But what Damon had truly never expected, was to find himself attached to a human, a child nonetheless! Sophie was her name, and she was a regular girl, perhaps even the kind of girl Damon would scoff at had he passed her by on the streets, with her excited rants of her favorite children's movies and the latest drama going on in the kindergarten. He smiled crookedly, thinking of her endearing vivaciousness.

It had been the first night that Damon had found Elena's house, and he was attempting to catch a glimpse of that mischievous face he had once known so well in Katherine. But what he found instead, accidentally, was a girl, restlessly lying in bed, and with a splotchy face that gave him the impression that she had been crying.

He watched her closed eyes twitch in distress, and after curiously watching for a moment, they flickered open. She silently gazed about her room for a moment until her eyes met his outside. Damon admitted he was being foolish, he knew birds don't keep eye contact with humans for substantial periods of time, but her eyes suggested certain loneliness, and even for a split second, a sense of understanding. He couldn't look away, and on a sudden impulse, held her stare.

She slowly swung her legs off her rumpled bed, and took a tentative step towards the window. And the look of true loneliness and anguish broke Damon's heart, and he thought, maybe, just for a moment, he could comfort the girl, and indulge her with a bit of magic, or so she would think.

_ It's ok_. Damon thought towards her. Her eyes widened and she took a sudden step back. As he looked into those big brown eyes, mesmerized and incredulous, he knew he was a goner.

After Damon had his brief encounter with Sophie, he had finally found Elena. And he had to stop himself from entering through her window to run his fingers through her hair. The love of his life, it could be so easy to pretend. Katherine, his mind sighed. As he once again took his human form, he couldn't help but allow his lips to be pulled into a devious smile, he was definitely going to have some fun in this town.

Ever since that first night he had paid a visit to Elena, and gave into his sympathies for the little girl, who after the first few nights, began believing she had a new "crow friend". Damon had to admit, he found her antics amusing, every once in a while he would drop in for a morning to see Elena, and overhear the nonsensical ramblings of Sophie, nonsensical yes, but false, no. Her family merely thought it an elaborate fantasy, or a reoccurring dream.

Of course Stefan had to ruin the fun, as always, and he knew things would get complicated, with Elena he didn't mind, that was all good and fun, but lately he had been feeling more... attached... to Sophie, and he knew Stefan would disapprove if he found out. But as creepy as it sounded, even to himself, it felt comforting to have such a simple relationship, with a human girl. The biggest drama in her life was when Henry took her Oreos during lunch.

She was growing attached to him as well, and he smiled thinking about it. Damon had given into his urges the previous night before and fed a couple that was driving through Mystic Falls, leaving another "animal attack", and after realizing he had missed his nightly chat with Sophie, visited her the following morning, and had a rather one sided conversation with her about the history of her stuffed animal fish she had received from her late parents during their trip from the previous summer.

_ You're going soft Damon, _he scolded. Yes, he was enjoying seeing Sophie, but that was merely a little hiccup in the plan, he was having his fun with Elena, and he needed to flip the switch on his humanity, it needed to be completely off. So with that, he finished off his bottle of booze, and decided it was time to have a little fun at the party that Elena was attending.

Bonnie had been enjoying Tyler's party with Elena, and they continued to joke about Bonnie's supposed "psychic" powers that she had been going on and on about lately.

"Here's your crystal ball," teased Elena as she handed her a beer. Their hands touched for a brief moment, and Bonnie gave Elena look of complete incredulity.

"What?" Asked Elena.

"That was weird, when I touched you... I saw a crow,"

"Oh not you too. This isn't a joke is it?" Elena asked, beginning to wonder if Jeremy had let Bonnie in on the crow fiasco going on in their household.

"A crow, and fog... and a man," Elena couldn't help but gawk at Bonnie. "I'm drunk!" Said Bonnie, "It's the drinking, it's probably nothing, nothing psychic about it," she assured her. "I'm going to get a drink," and with that Bonnie quickly left Elena shocked and alone.

"Hi," Stefan Salvatore said, seemingly out of nowhere. And in that moment, Elena decided to ignore what had just happened with Bonnie, and the creepiness, both coincidence of Sophie's imaginary friend, and the occurrence in the cemetery yesterday. Elena deserved to have some fun, and spend some time with Stefan.

"Hi," She replied sweetly, taking a step closer to him.

It seemed like they had been talking for hours, albeit with a few interruptions from Matt and Caroline, when Elena spotted Jeremy.

"God, you've got to be kidding me," Elena moaned, glaring at the boy.

"What is it?" Stefan asked, following her gaze.

"My brother, he shouldn't be here," she said.

"The drunk one?"

"That would be the one, excuse me," she said following Jeremy off into the woods leaving Stefan alone.

"Jeremy? Where the hell are you going? And why are you here? You're supposed to be helping Aunt Jenna watch Sophie! You know she's having a hard time adjusting!" She yelled.

And that was when they discovered Vicky Donovan's body.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a little after midnight when Elena finally collapsed on her living room couch. She felt so overwhelmed by the night's events that she simply did not have the energy to make it to her bedroom.

The night had been close to perfect with getting to know Stefan when Jeremy had suddenly pulled Vicky Donovan's blood-covered body from the woods. Elena was the first to spot the two and had frantically rushed over to help. From that point on it had been hours filled with phone calls and trips to and from the hospital.

As she lied there, it was Jeremy whom she was worried for the most. She knew that he had a massive crush on Vicky and he had to be in a very traumatic state after finding her the way he did; God forbid the boy needed for trauma in his life.

Elena had tried several times to get Jeremy to come home with her, but ended up leaving the hospital unsuccessfully. She was way too exhausted to fight with him.

Just as she was about to close her eyes and drift into a slumber, the ringing doorbell flooded her ears. A soft groan escaped her throat as she lifted her tired body off the couch. She trudged over to the door, wondering who could be there at this hour.

When Elena opened the door, she did not expect to see who was on the other side. Standing in front of her with a soft smile was Stefan. "Hi," He said calmly.

Elena couldn't help but smile back. "Hi," She mumbled.

"I'm sorry to barge in like this," He began. Before Elena could stammer that it wasn't a problem, he continued. "But I just wanted to make sure you were okay," He said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

Elena felt her heart tingle at his warm statement. This boy was really too much. She looked down at her feet, lost for words. "Ummm…yeah I'm alright I guess," She stated, not sure if she was telling the truth or not. When she looked back at him, her eyes found his. He didn't look convinced.

Elena sighed. "Okay, I guess I'm not fine," She admitted. "It's been a uhh…rough evening," She replied honestly.

Stefan gave her a reassuring smile as he took a step closer to her. "You won't be sad forever Elena," He said.

Elena took a deep breath. There was something about Stefan that made her feel incredibly safe; and at the moment, safe sounded pretty good. "Would you like to come in? Maybe we could talk for a bit," She said invitingly.

Stefan felt a sigh of relief at the invitation, but held it in. "Yes," He replied. "I'd like that," He stepped inside the house and slowly closed the door behind him.

Even though it had been a very long and tiring night, Sophie felt restless. She had heard the news of Vicky Donovan and listened as Aunt Jenna bustled around the house, trying to get ahold of her siblings. Sophie had been passed to three different babysitters since then and was now nestled in her bed with Flounder, but found herself wide awake.

Sophie couldn't fight the confusion flooding through her mind. She never knew much of what was going on around town because she was just a kid. But she liked Vicky a lot and couldn't help but worry about her. Was she ok? Was she going to die? Were they going to find out who or what attacked her? It frustrated the young child at not knowing anything.

With Flounder tucked in her arms, she left her bed to perch herself on her window seat, waiting for her crow to appear. If there was anything in this world that was able to make her feel safe and happy, it was the crow.

While she was waiting, she heard Elena come home and fought the urge to go down and snuggle in her big sister's arms; but as far as Elena was knew, Sophie was asleep.

Not long after, Sophie heard the doorbell, followed by a murmur of voices. She had tiptoed quietly to her door to hear better when she recognized Stefan's voice. A soft smile spread across her lips when she heard Elena inviting him in.

Just as her curiosity was getting the best of her, Sophie caught the familiar cawing fill her bedroom. She smiled widely when she saw the majestic black bird sitting in its usual spot, waiting for her. "I was hoping you would come," She whispered, her voice consumed with joy before shutting her door and rushing to the window.

Stefan felt a wave of happiness when he finally left Elena's house around 3 a.m., something he had not felt in the longest time.

Talking to Elena had felt almost as real and natural as breathing had been when he was human. In the short time they had known each other; they somehow were able to confide in one another. She had shared some of her darkest moments in her life to him and he was able to listen and say the right things to at least make her smile. He began to sense a connection between them.

She was different than Katherine; more different than he had expected, which made him like her even more. Unlike Katherine, Elena was tender and kind. She cared about others and always seemed to put their feelings before her own. Stefan couldn't fight the excitement at the thought of seeing her again tomorrow.

His pleasant thoughts were interrupted when he stepped inside his house and saw the outraged look of his "Uncle" Zack.

"You promised," Zack spat at him. Before Stefan could question, Zack held up a newspaper that was crumbled in his fist. Stefan stepped closer to read the fine print of the front headline. His eyes widened and he snatched the paper away.

"What the hell is this Stefan?" Zack snarled at him.

After reading the first few sentences, Stefan looked back up at him. "I didn't do this," He said calmly and handed the paper back.

"Oh really? Then who did?" Zack asked, not convinced.

"I don't know, but it wasn't me," Stefan said blankly. "I'm clean, remember?" He turned and headed for his room.

Zack followed him. "I thought we agreed to this Uncle Stefan. I agreed to let you stay here if you kept yourself in line-"

"I am in line!" Stefan growled as he turned back furiously. Zack just stared at him, speechless. Stefan stared back then looked down to see that he had grabbed Zack's arm. "Sorry," He said, quickly letting go. Before Zack could respond, Stefan fled, retreating to his bedroom.

After slamming his door with frustration, Stefan threw his jacket into a corner before pacing the room. Just as he was beginning to circle his thoughts, a chilling sound filled the room; the loud caw of a crow.

Stefan groaned, knowing what was coming next. He turned around and shook his, seeing his assumption had been correct. Standing in front of him with a dashing smirk on his face was indeed his older brother Damon Salvatore. "Damon," Stefan said without a hint of emotion.

"Hello brother," Damon replied, his smirk widening.

Stefan folded his arms across his chest. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Damon shrugged and began to stroll around the room. "Wow, love what you've done with the place," He observed. "Glad to be at home Stefan?"

"Damon seriously. What are you doing here?" Stefan repeated, not amused.

"Oh I just came to visit my baby brother," Damon exclaimed. "Mom always said to look out for you," He teased. When Stefan didn't reply, he went on. "So I hear you got a new girlfriend," He said as he approached Stefan's desk, picking up a piece of paper. "Who happens to look an awful lot like Katherine," He raised the paper, revealing a photo of Katherine that for some reason Stefan always kept.

"Elena's not like her," Stefan stated.

"Elena? Well that's a nice name," Damon said cheerfully. "Maybe I should pay her I visit,"

Stefan felt his insides flare. "If you even _think _about going near her-"He threatened.

"Or what?" Damon snorted. "You're gonna' zap me with your bunny powers? Face it Stefan, you are nowhere near a match for me. Bambi can only do so much for you little bro,"

Stefan sunk his head down in defeat. Damon was right. Living off animal blood limited his strength immensely.

"Now, about Miss Elena," Damon said, breaking the silence. "I have seen her around…and she does look like she might be _very _fun to play with," He taunted.

Without another thought, Stefan launched himself at his brother, sending them both flying through the window. As soon as the brothers plumped onto the cement, Stefan started throwing hard punches to Damon's face, ignoring the pain that electrified his body.

Damon grunted a bit at the sudden attack but quickly restrained himself and soon had his brother pinned to the ground. Stefan struggled to get away, only to receive blows to the face. Finally, he managed to bring his legs up and kick Damon in the torso, sending him across the yard. He stood up, wiping the blood from his mouth and raced toward his brother.

Damon was quickly on his feet and grabbed ahold of Stefan's arm before he could make any sudden movements. With an effortless twist, Damon snapped Stefan's arm and dropped him when the younger vampire groaned in agonizing pain.

Stefan clutched his broken arm, trying to wait for his self-healing to begin. He avoided Damon's eye contact when he saw the other vampire kneel in front of him.

"That should teach you a lesson little brother," Damon hissed. Stefan just sat there, glaring at him. Damon leaned in to whisper in your ear "For Elena's sake," And then he disappeared as quickly as he had come.

Trying to ignore the ache in his shoulder, Stefan stood up and slowly retreated back into the house.

**Sorry for the long update really long…I'm so horrible with it and I'm sorry! These first two chapters were mainly just intros and it will be as close to the show as it will get. We are mainly focusing on Damon and our lovely OC we have created**** so definitely you will be getting to know her more in the next chapter. We hope you guys enjoy this and reviews would be much appreciated! **


	3. Chapter 3

"Ohh! Stefan are you cooking? Because I LOVE cooking! Can I help Stefan? Please?" Stefan chuckled at Sophie's innocent eagerness, while Elena stuck her palm into Sophie's face with Sophie pushing to overpower her.

"Sophie, go be a monkey somewhere else," Elena said with annoyance.

"Stefan, tell Elena it's okay for me to stay, tell her Stef-eroony!" Sophie begged.

"Um... I'm not getting in the middle of this," Stefan said with amusement.

"Bonnie?" Sophie turned to the dark haired girl standing in the corner, looking at her with hopeful eyes.

Bonnie quickly jumped out of her lost daze and gave Sophie a sympathetic grin. "Sorry Soph, you're on your own,"

"Will you excuse us for a minute… Bonnie? Stef-eroony?" Elena said, winking at Stefan while dragging Sophie out by the elbow to the living room, leaving him and Bonnie alone awkwardly.

"Ow, Lena that hurts!" Sophie whined, pushing herself away from her sister.

"Listen, Soph, I think I really like Stefan. And I'm pretty sure he likes me too. You don't want to scare him off do you?" Elena said crouching to her eye level.

"No," Sophie pouted, not looking at her.

"Good, now go play in your room, I'll bring you some food upstairs when dinner's ready," said Elena as she exited the living room.

"You mean I can't even eat dinner with you guys!" Sophie said with frustration. "Sheesh, what do people have against six year olds?" She dragged her feet up the stairs dramatically, and upon reaching her room, plopped down into her bed. She let out a dramatic sigh, and was surprised to hear the response of a familiar tapping at her window.

"Finally! Someone who can appreciate me!" She said, leaping off her bed and stepping to her window, unlatching it, and smiling at the big bird that sat on the branch that nearly reached the house. The night air was cool, but it was refreshing compared to the stuffy summer air that had been inherited Mystic Falls these past few days.

She looked at him expectantly, "How come you never come in the house?" She asked curiously, but also somewhat accusatory; he was her friend and she felt slightly offended her friend wouldn't come in her house. "You can you know," she said timidly. "Come in my house I mean," she said. And with those words the birds took a big leap from the branch and onto her windowsill, and from there hopped into Sophie's arm, causing her to giggle.

Sophie knew that her crow was a crow, obviously, but there was something that she found almost human about him, and couldn't help but imagine a human hobbling around and squawking around the way her crow did.

The moment of glee passed for Sophie, and then she remembered she was supposed to be sulking, because Elena wouldn't let her hang out with her and Stefan.

_What's Wrong? _She found herself imagining the bird was saying.

"Well Elena and Stefan and Bonnie are having a dinner party and I'm not invited, or even allowed to be downstairs!" The bird seemed to sympathize with Sophie and this comforted her slightly.

Unbeknownst to Sophie, an idea had cropped up in Damon's head, and since now, dear sweet Sophie had offered him an invitation into the Gilbert house, he could come and go as he pleased. This was going to be good. And a dinner party? And he was not invited? Well that will not do.

Abruptly the crow left Sophie's arm and flew out the window.

"You too!? Does nobody want to spend time with me!" Sophie threw her arms up in the air, and resigned herself to grabbing her sketch book to a blank page, and grabbing a blue crayon and scribbling away.

Before Sophie could get too upset over the departure of the crow, she heard the doorbell ring. She flew out of her bedroom and raced down the stairs, nearly tripping over her quick feet. She pulled the door open, looking into the stunning eyes of a tall and dark figure. "Who are you?" She questioned in a suspicious tone.

"Sophie!" Elena suddenly appeared, pulling the small girl behind her back. "I am so sorry," She said turning back to the stranger.

"Oh it's no problem," The stranger replied with a cocky grin. "Elena,"

It took a moment for Elena to realize that the visitor was Stefan's older brother Damon. She shook her stupidity away and returned the smile. "Right, you're Stefan's brother. Damon?"

"Yes," He confirmed with a slight nod.

Sophie quickly stepped in front of Elena, gazing wide eyed at Damon. "I'm Sophie!" She said obnoxiously.

Damon gave her a small grin. "Hello Sophie,"

"You're wearing all black! Did you just come from a funeral?" Sophie asked, observing Damon's clothes.

Elena rubbed her temple in frustration. "Sophie…"

Before Damon could respond, Stefan entered the room. "Damon," He said coolly, trying to mask his surprise.

"Hello brother," Damon said, smirking. Elena's eyes went back and forth between the two, sensing the tension radiating in the air. It was obvious there was a lot she didn't know about their relationship.

"Stefan you have a brother!?" Sophie blabbered. "That's so cool! I have one too! His name's Jeremy!" She went on, oblivious to the daggers Stefan was sending Damon.

"Caroline told me you were having a dinner party. I thought we'd drop in," Damon said. Elena couldn't help but think the tone of his charming voice was a bit more than friendly.

At the mention of Elena's friend, Sophie immediately pushed passed Damon to rush out the door. "Where's Caroline?" She said with quick disappointment when the blond was nowhere in sight.

"She'll be here shortly," Damon answered.

Stefan whispered in Elena's ear. "Elena, this is not a good idea, don't let him in," He then turned to his brother. "You shouldn't be here Damon," He said sternly.

"Oh come on Stef. I want to meet this charming young lady you seem to be head over heels for." He said, winking at Elena which caused her to blush.

"Well what's the problem?" Sophie started as she headed back inside. "Come on-"

"No Sophie!" Stefan said, cutting her off and grabbing her shoulders. "Elena," He said pleadingly, looking at her.

"Oh Stefan, always the drama queen," Damon said smugly, and then deliberately took a step into the Gilbert house.

Stefan could feel his jaw drop down to his knees. "How did you-"

"Come now Stefan, let's enjoy the evening. Caroline will be arriving shortly," Damon said, proceeding to plop down on the couch. Sophie squealed with excitement and followed him, immediately striking up a conversation.

Elena watched the two with a raised eyebrow, not sure what to think of Damon's mysterious brother. He seemed friendly and charming, but she noticed how uncomfortable his presence made Stefan.

It took a lot out of Stefan not to grab Sophie and Elena and leave the house. Damon's sudden appearance made him want to rip his own eyes out. He felt his shoulders relax when Elena's hand slip into his. She gave him a reassuring smile which he returned. For now, he decided to let it go. He assumed Damon wouldn't do anything too rash and it seemed that neither of the sisters were in immediate danger.

Elena squeezed Stefan's hand before heading back to the kitchen. "I'm going to go help Bonnie finish dinner," she said hesitantly.

"I'll come help you," Stefan quickly said, wanting to avoid conversation with his brother.

Feeling awkward about leaving her sister with a complete stranger, Elena eyed Damon. "Uh…you'll be okay with her?" She asked him.

"Oh yeah, we'll be perfectly fine," Damon grinned.

"He'll be okay with her right?" Elena asked Stefan as they proceeded into the kitchen.

"He should be," He replied, noting to listen for any signs of suspicion.

Back in the living room, Sophie stared at Damon curiously. "So Damon," She started suspiciously.

"Yes Sophia?" Damon asked, causing the girl to scrunch her face.

"The only one who calls me Sophia is my uncle John. I don't like him," She said, stuffing her arms across her chest.

"Oh my apologies Sophie. You were saying?" He said, smiling at her with interest.

"What's your favorite Disney movie?" Sophie pondered, twirling a piece of her dark hair in her fingers.

Damon raised an eyebrow, but then remembered Sophie's obsession with The Little Mermaid, and couldn't help but have a little fun. "Well…I have to say it'd definitely be the Little Mermaid," He said with fake sincerity.

Sophie's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "No. WAY! That's mine!" She giggled, jumping off the couch. Before she could begin a full-fledged rant on her favorite scenes and songs, the doorbell rang.

Elena walked out of the kitchen and to the front door. On the other side was Caroline, smiled brightly when she saw her face. "Elena!"

"Hey," Elena said happily at seeing her friend.

"CAROLINE!" Sophie screeched, running into the room and bombarding herself into Caroline's arms, resulting in a loud "umph" from Caroline.

"Hey there Squirt," Caroline said, giving Sophie a tight squeeze. "Long time no see,"

Before Sophie could spit out one word, Damon strolled into the room, followed by Stefan and Bonnie. "There she is! My lovely Caroline," He said, kissing the blond on the cheek when he reached her.

Caroline gushed then turned to Elena. "So is dinner ready? I'm starving," She pushed.

Elena nodded awkwardly. "Uh yeah, I just need to get everything set out. Bonnie, you wanna' give me a hand?" Bonnie nodded and followed Elena into the kitchen.

Sophie grabbed Caroline by the hand, pulling her into the living room while Stefan continued to shower Damon with hateful glares.

"Really Damon?" He asked. "Caroline?"

Damon gave him a clueless look. "What about her?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Stefan pressed. "She's Elena's friend,"

"A very… tasty one at that," Damon smirked, licking the corner of his lips before following the girls into the living room.

After a very long an awkward dinner, the group retreated to the living room. Elena sat herself somewhat close to Stefan while Caroline perched herself in Damon's lap. Bonnie curled up in the loveseat across from them.

"So Stefan," Bonnie began, breaking the silence. "How was football? Did you make the team?"

Stefan nodded, unenthusiastic. "Yeah I did,"

"You don't seem too happy about it," Bonnie noticed.

Stefan shrugged. "It's just football."

"Don't be modest Stefan, did you hear about how Tyler threw that ball and Stef-"

"Yeah, I heard," said Bonnie interrupting Elena.

"Well _I _didn't," Damon said feigning interest, which resulted in Caroline giving a detailed account of how Stefan amazingly caught a football earlier at school that day.

"CAN I COME DOWN NOW?!" Sophie's voice was heard from upstairs.

"Why did Jenna have to be working tonight?" Elena muttered to herself, raising a palm to her forehead.

"Oh Elena, kids will be kids, by all means, have Sophie join us," Damon said happily. Sophie, who apparently had been listening intently in on the conversation, loudly made her way down the stairs and bombarded into Elena's lap.

Elena sighed for a moment, but then gave her sister a tight squeeze, knowing the six-year-old would ease the tension that had built in the room.

Sophie cuddled into Elena's side, not taking her eyes off of Damon, who gave her a dazzling grin.

"So Sophie, want do you want to be when you grow up?" Stefan asked her politely.

Sophie gave no hesitation in answering. "I want to be a cheerleader just like Lena and Caroline," She giggled. "Or a ninja, whichever pays better," She said matter-of-factly, which caused everyone to chuckle.

"Well I think you are a fantastic little cheerleader already," Caroline said, initiating a smile from Sophie.

"What do you do Damon?" Sophie quickly asked.

"Oh, you know, travel," Damon said nonchalantly.

"Travel!? Where? Disney World? The park down the street!? I love travelling there," Sophie spouted out.

"Well I think it's about time I clean up," Elena said, standing up.

"I'll come too," Bonnie added awkwardly. Damon smiled at Stefan, knowing fully that Stefan intended to give him a stern talking to as soon as they were alone.

"That's a nice scarf you have there, Caroline," Sophie commented, smiling at Caroline, "May I see it?" She asked, reaching for the material.

"No," Caroline said, grabbing the girl's hand.

Stefan looked at her curiously. "Why not Caroline? It's just a scarf?"

"Caroline, why don't you go help Elena in the kitchen?" Damon suddenly interrupted, wanting to halt Stefan's accusations. He gazed into Caroline's eyes, watching the compulsion sink in.

"I think I'll go help Elena and Bonnie in the kitchen," Caroline said compliantly.

Sophie watched Damon as he compelled Caroling, noticing a familiar glisten in his eyes. "Hey!" She shouted. "I recognize you," She grabbed his chin in her tiny grip, turning his gaze towards her. "You're my crow!"

Shocked by her sudden actions, Damon's fangs nearly popped out of his mouth, but he kept his cool. "Why don't you go on up to bed?" He said, his eyes peeling into hers. Now was not a good time for her to make the connection, and he didn't want Stefan becoming anymore suspicious than he already was.

As if she hadn't even spoken, Sophie jumped from the couch. "Well, I'm going to bed, night night, Steferoony, Damon," Sophie said happily skipping off upstairs.

"Really? Caroline is one thing but a little kid? This is getting ridiculous Damon," Stefan said, glaring at his brother.

"Please Stefan, what part of bad guy don't you understand?" Damon said devilishly.

"If you hurt her, or anyone for that matter, I will end you," Stefan said darkly.

"I'd like to see you try," Damon challenged.

"Well, I better be going, give my regards to Elena… and, oh yeah, make sure my date gets home… Ta ta, brother," Damon said as he swaggered out the door.

Stefan watched him leave, clutching his hands together in frustration.

After Bonnie and Caroline left, Elena and Stefan alone, made their way up to Elena's room.

Stefan reluctantly plucked a photo album from a bookshelf and plopped onto her bed while Elena made sure Sophie was asleep. When she came back, she curled herself up next to him.

A moment of silence passed before Elena spoke up. "So your brother is kind of nice," She remarked.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "Don't get me started. He may seem charming at first, but-"

Elena cut him off. "Stefan, he wasn't that bad," She said, placing her hand on top of his. They both looked down at their interlocked fingers before he pulled her in for a kiss.

As he kissed her, Stefan flung the album off of Elena's lap and brought himself closer to her. He gripped her waist tightly as they rolled around on the bed.

Elena cupped his face in her hands, kissing him with full force. She nearly jumped out of her skin as his cold hands trickled up her shirt. Just as he was about to remove the material off her shoulders, a tiny voice entered the room.

"Lena?" Sophie stood in the doorway, clutching her stuffed Flounder tight in her arms and tears blotching her face.

When they both looked up at her, Elena quickly pushed herself away from Stefan. She stood up and flattened her shirt down. "Sophie what are you doing in here? I thought you were asleep,"

"I…had…a bad…dream," Sophie huffed as she spoke, fresh tears falling from her eyes.

Elena approached her and took Sophie into her arms. "What about baby?" She asked as Sophie cried into her chest.

"Mommy…and…Daddy…" Sophie sobbed.

Elena looked at Stefan who looked at Sophie with sympathy. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?" She whispered into Sophie's ear. Sophie nodded tearfully.

Elena walked over to her bed and crawled into it with Sophie still in her arms. Stefan sat next to them, watching the small girl cry, occasionally attempting words of comfort to her.

Once Elena was able to get Sophie back to sleep, Stefan stood up. "I think I should go," He said, giving Elena a gentle kiss.

"Thank you for staying." Elena said with a smile then turned back to her sister.

"Of course," Stefan said and rubbed Sophie's head before leaving the room.

It wasn't long after Stefan left when Elena had fallen asleep. As she drifted off, she felt her own set of tears melt down her face. She missed her parents more than anything but also felt horrible for Sophie. She was so young and helpless.

When she finally dozed off, Elena didn't notice the presence of a dark figure lingering in the doorway, watching the two sisters sleep.


End file.
